Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Prospect Capital Co. (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $3.38 and last traded at $3.43, with a volume of 731868 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Prospect Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Prospect Capital from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Prospect Capital Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $3.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.14. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.05. Prospect Capital had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The business had revenue of $170.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.29 million.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Prospect Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -62.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Gremp bought 19,100 shares of Prospect Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.29 per share, for a total transaction of $81,939.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 75,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at $322,406.37. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John F. Barry acquired 24,000 shares of Prospect Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.24 per share, for a total transaction of $101,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,594,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,200,849.60. This represents a 0.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 2,548,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,970,715 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 28.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Prospect Capital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PSEC. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Prospect Capital by 6,177.6% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,478,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,684,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439,426 shares during the last quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 26.6% during the first quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 2,315,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,494,000 after purchasing an additional 487,171 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Prospect Capital by 24.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,181,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,845,000 after purchasing an additional 235,139 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in Prospect Capital by 176.1% in the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 915,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,753,000 after purchasing an additional 583,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Prospect Capital by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 707,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,051,000 after buying an additional 233,948 shares during the last quarter. 9.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in middle market, mature, mezzanine finance, later stage, emerging growth, leveraged buyouts, refinancing, acquisitions, recapitalizations, turnaround, growth capital, development, capital expenditures and subordinated debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations, cash flow term loans, market place lending and bridge transactions.